khaen

noun

ˈken 

variants or less commonly khene or kaen or khen

plural khaens also khenes or kaens or khens

: a Southeast Asian mouth organ that consists of a small wooden reservoir through which pass a set of six to eighteen long bamboo pipes each with a tiny metal free reed in a side opening and that is played by exhaling and inhaling

In Thailand and Laos, the mouth organ called the khaen is also used for dancing, often while playing the instrument …

—Jeremy Montagu, Origins and Development of Musical Instruments, 2007

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

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